A church has donated compensation money received after a parasite was found in Clevedon’s water to set up a project in Uganda.

Members of Christchurch in Chapel Hill have given £10 donations from Bristol Water to people affected by a sickness bug found in Clevedon’s water supply last month to set up a rain harvesting project in the East African country.

Terry Game was already in the country helping the Uganda Women Concern Ministry (UWCM) when the traces of cryptosporidium were found in Clevedon water supplies on January 11.

It follows a severe drought which hit much of the country last year, prompting people to appeal to the charity for advice on water harvesting by buying large tanks to hold water during periods of limited rainfall.

Their plight inspired church-goers to support the charity’s campaign.

Terry said: “People giving their money to help this initiative is brilliant and everyone I’ve spoken to about it says it is a wonderful idea.

“It did seem quite ironic that just after I flew out to Uganda a few friends texted me to tell me about the problem with the water in Clevedon and said they were having to boil water.

“The World Health Organisation specifies 50 litres of water per person are required every day for basic sanitation.

“But in rural areas most Africans use, on average, only 30-40 litres and in the remotest areas as little as four litres per day.

“In comparison, 20 litres of water is used when having a shower for 1.5 minutes and the average consumer in the US gets through approximately 380 litres of water per day for domestic purposes.”

Tanks cost anything from £30 for a 250-litre tank to £250 for one with a 5,000-litre capacity.

The parasite found in Clevedon’s water supply forced schools to close while many residents were told to boil water before using it for four days.

Anyone who would like to donate to the water project can pick up a form from the church or alternatively email ugandaconcernuk@live.co.uk